Victor Hepworth, 79, collapsed and died after an alleged bust-up with three young lads just yards from his front door. It is believed he suffered a heart attack.

A woman saw the youngsters trying to pull a plastic bag from the church-goer’s hands. Moments later he was found unconscious with blood pouring from a gash over his left eye.

Police were yesterday searching bins, drains and bushes in Harehills, Leeds, for clues about what happened.

Mr Hepworth, a former hospital porter, was not married and had no children.

But friend Abul Hasam, 28, who tended to his neighbour as they waited for an ambulance, said: “The community was his family.”

Investigation: Victor Hepworth (Image: Ross Parry)

After finding Mr Hepworth collapsed in an alley behind his home, Mr Hasam tried to stem the flow of blood from his head wound.

“I got a towel, lifted his head and put it under him,” he said. “He was blue, there was blood everywhere. I checked his pulse, his heart – there was nothing. He was gone.

“I have known him since I was five. He was the friendliest person in the world.”

Denise Berkyova, 16, said her mum, Anna Hlavacova, had seen Mr Hepworth talking to three boys from her window.

The teenager said: “She recognised them, they were about 13.

“She saw the old man give them something but then they tried to take his bag.”

Mr Hepworth worked as a sacristan at his local church, St Aidan’s. Retired Rev Alan Taylor said: “Victor was a shy man but he was very caring. He was also very handy – the children in his neighbourhood would take him their bikes and he’d fix them.”

Thomina Begum, 27, said: “All the kids called him Mr Tumble off the TV because they thought Victor was just like him. He was the community grandad.”

A postmortem revealed Mr Hepworth, who is believed to have had a heart condition, did not die from his head injury. Tests to discover the cause of death are continuing.